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He was replaced by right-hander Curtis Partch. This means the Reds are continuing to go with eight relief pitchers. Seven is the normal number. The Reds hope to get back to that eventually.

But the fact is they don't have a lot of options to fill that last bench spot.

"Right now, we don't have a lot of position players on the roster to come and help us," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "Until we see a better fit, we stay with an eight-man bullpen. We don't have a ton of significant options in our system that are on the roster."

Neftali Soto is on the roster and has been in that role in two stints with the Reds. But he is 3-for-42 in his major league career.

The Reds have a couple of veterans at Triple-A. Ruben Gotay, 31, is hitting .265 with 15 home runs and 50 RBI. He's played second, third and shortstop in the majors. He started in left field Tuesday night for Louisville.

"We talked about him," Price said. "We talked about some other guys in Triple-A. Felix Perez is having a nice year. We also want to look to what we can handle with our roster."

Perez, an outfielder, is hitting .285 with 10 home runs and 56 RBI for Louisville.

Jack Hannahan, who is on the DL with a shoulder issue, is two weeks into a rehab assignment. When he is activated, the Reds will have to make a roster move because he's on the 60-day DL.

"We have to manage our roster," Price said. "We don't want to lose somebody to have somebody up here for three to five days to fill until somebody else is ready to go. It would be nice to have more options."

Price sees this as a temporary thing.

"What was exciting for me is that group of kids that was in Bakersfield," he said. "They're off to a somewhat slow start in Pensacola, but they're there. It will benefit us regardless of how they do this last month or five weeks of the minor league season."

Price was referring to Jesse Winker and Seth Mejias-Breen. Both could be in Triple-A this time next year.

"They could help us next year," he said. "I think the position players are coming. That's exciting to see. Pitchers as well. We're getting our better prospects closer to the big leagues."